cssfjrhighabstracts2008

SPLASH! The Effect of Size of Blades and Number of Blades on the Voltage Output of Waterwheels.J0113

Objectives/Goals

The purpose of this project is to investigate to see if the size of blades and number of blades affect the voltage output of a water wheel. Based on my research, the hypothesis I formed is by increasing the number of blades up to a certain point and increasing the size of blades up to a certain point will increase the voltage output of a waterwheel.

Methods/Materials

First I built the waterwheel stand (part with the generator). Then I constructed six waterwheels. Three were for testing the effect of blade size on voltage and the other three the effect of number of blades on voltage output. Three wheels had different sizes of blades (7.5cm, 15cm, and 22.5cm). The other three wheels had different number of blades (8 blades,12 blades, and 16 blades). I connected these wheels to the stand and after attaching the voltmeter ran each of them under water for 30 seconds. I watched the reading of the voltmeter and recorded the highest voltage that I saw. I then repeated this 4 times for each wheel.

Results

The results for the (blade size) were that the 7.5cm blade waterwheel produced an average of 2.0mV. The 15cm blade waterwheel produced an average of 4.6mV. The 22.5cm blade waterwheel produced an average of 7.5mV. The results for the (number of blades) were that the 8 blade waterwheel produced an average of 3.8mV. The 12 blade waterwheel produced an average of 4.7mV. The 16 blade waterwheel produced an average of 6.5mV.

Conclusions/Discussion

My hypotheses of the waterwheel producing more voltage when there are more blades up to a certain point and of the waterwheel producing more voltage when the blades are bigger up to a certain point were supported. The reason for the waterwheel producing more voltage than the wheels with fewer blades is that when it had fewer blades the water strikes each blade and between each strike is a delay. This delay allows the wheel to slow down so less voltage is produced. But when there were more blades there is less time between each strike so less speed was lost. Since less speed was lost the waterwheel could produce more energy as the magnet turned faster moving the electrons faster producing more energy. The longer blades had more torque and therefore the waterwheel produced more voltage. With this information waterwheels can be constructed to produce energy more efficiently and by doing this we are a step closer to getting away from our dependency on oil.

Summary

My project is about investigating the effect of blade size and number of blades on the voltage output of a water wheel.

Every morning I take polyethylene glycol (Miralax) mixed in cold apple juice. Since dissolving Miralax is a slow process, I researched how to speed it up. My hypothesis was that as the temperature of a solvent (water or apple juice) increases, the solute, polyethylene glycol, added to the liquid will dissolve more quickly.

Methods/Materials

I measured 100 ml of water in a graduated cylinder 5 times, and poured each 100 ml of water into plastic cups labeled either 9, 17, 25, 33, or 41 degrees Celsius. One at a time, I placed the 9 and 17 cups in my freezer, and the 25, 33 and 41 cups over a heated stove, until a digital thermometer showed the desired temperatures. I then poured 8 grams of Miralax into each cup, stirred each solution, and recorded the time elapsed for the Miralax to completely dissolve. The entire trial was repeated two more times and these three trials were repeated using apple juice as my solvent.

Results

In all six trials, with each increase in temperature, the time interval for dissolving lessened. In fact, at higher temperatures, the data demonstrated an almost linear correlation between rising temperatures and lowering dissolving time. My data also showed that as a solvent, water hastened the dissolving process as compared to apple juice.

Conclusions/Discussion

The data collected clearly proved my hypothesis that as the temperature of the solvents increased, polyethylene glycol dissolved more quickly. Of course, more trials would make the data more accurate. In addition, potential minor errors might have affected the data's reliability. Scale and thermometer precision, inconsistent solution stirring, and subjective viewing of dissolving completion may have contributed to possible inaccurate results. In any case, adding heat to my Miralax will undoubtedly speed up my morning routine.

Summary

Does heat help polyethylene glycol dissolve?

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Cognitive Science

Shubha S. Raghvendra

Do You Remember? A Phoneme-Based Structural Analysis of Word Recall J0623

Objectives/Goals

The purpose of my project was to analyze factors involved in the short-term memorization and recall of words. Specifically, I focused on proving a model for word recall I synthesized based on research and a study I conducted last year (Studying the Effects of Contextual Information on the Analysis of Words). This model describes the short-term memorization of words as follows: (1) The word is broken down into individual phonemes (sounds). (2) Factual and (3) emotional associations are made to the word. Though steps (2) and (3) have been proven through scientific research, the step (1) is a hypothesis I developed from observations of my pattern-recognition study of the reading process from last year; therefore, a second purpose of my project was proving this model for short-term word recall. Based on results from last year which indicated that phonemes (as opposed to just letters) were crucial in the reading process I hypothesized that phonemes would again be important in the short-term memorization process.

Methods/MaterialsTo evaluate my hypothesis, I created a series of 8 tests which I administered to 26 subjects. These tested a variety of variables, focusing on establishing a basis for word recall (phonemes or letters?) & pinpointing the location of the clue (beginning, middle, end) that would be most effective in increasing frequency of recall (FoR). The setup of these tests was to present a subject a list of 10 words for a minute and then have him or her recall the words with the help of certain clues (depending on the variable) or no clues at all (in the control).

Results

My data established phonemes as the basis of word recall because trials where phonemes were kept intact outperformed all others in terms of subjects' FoR (a 70% average increase from the control). I noticed that 'beginning clues' (phonemes or letters) were most effective in increasing FoR. Lastly, in all non-phoneme trials (i.e. trials evaluating the effects of letter clues on the reading process), I noticed a strong link between the 'novelty' of words (calculated by averaging the percentage chance of any letter being a given letter for all the letters of a word) and FoR.

Conclusions/Discussion

From my results, I concluded that my hypothesis was correct and my model of short-term word memorization and recall was valid. Most importantly, through my project, phonemes were established as a basis for the short-term memorization of words.

Summary

The purpose of my project was to analyze factors involved in the short-term memorization and recall of words.

I wanted to find out if age was a factor in how people adapted. Specifically, I wanted to find out if age affected a person's ability to adapt to a computer mouse that inverted the direction of motion of the cursor on the computer screen.

Methods/Materials

I used two computer games to measure a person's adaptability. In both games, a target circle is presentedat a random location on the computer screen. The goal is to move the cursor over the target and click the mouse. When the target is clicked on, a new target appears at another random location on the screen. The game lasts 1 minute and the total number of targets clicked on is the score. The first game has a mouse cursor that moves normally. The subject plays this game 3 times and I consider the average score as the subject's "normal" score. The second game has a mouse cursor that is "inverted". This means if the mouse is moved left, the cursor moves right and vice versa. Up and down are also reversed. The subject plays this game 3 times. I compared the score of the last "inverted" game with the "normal" score. I did this by expressing the last inverted score as a percentage of the normal score.

Results

I studied the scores from 100 people of different ages. I categorized my subjects by age group as kid, teenager, young adult, adult and senior. The average of each category was: Kid = 28, Teenager = 53, Young Adult = 42, Adult = 39, Senior = 47.

Conclusions/Discussion

My results show me that age does not affect how well a person adapts to an inverted computer mouse. However, people who use the computer more were able to adapt much better. I also found that people who use the computer very little or never had similar scores for both games.

Environmental EngineeringZareen ChoudhuryPhytoextraction: An Organic Decontaminator J0904Objectives/GoalsSoil contaminants form negative impacts on our ecosystem: ruining groundwater supplies, killingorganisms, and posing a threat to our health. Certain plants can decontaminate soil through the process ofphytoextraction; my project was to find out which plant (Euphorbia, Blue Fescue, Umbrella Plant, orKale) would decontaminate the most amount of zinc contamination from the soil. I hypothesized that theBlue Fescue would, because of its high toxicity-resistance levels and long roots.Methods/MaterialsI had 3 of each type of plant (12 plants in all), with 1 control and 2 variables for each type. The variableplants all received a dosage of zinc chloride; within each plant type, 1 variable plant would get zinc at aratio of 776.4 mg of Zn/kg of soil and the other variable plant got a ratio of 100 mg of Zn/kg of soil. After3 weeks, the control plants and the plants with a concentration of 776.4 mg of Zn/kg of soil were sent to alab, to see how much zinc they extracted by then. After an additional 5 weeks, all variable plants weresent to the lab, and the final data were taken.ResultsAfter 3 weeks (for 776.4 mg/kg plants): The Kale had the most percent increase in zinc, followed by theBlue Fescue, then Euphorbia, and last the Umbrella plant. After 8 weeks (for 776.4 mg/kg plants): The Kale had the highest percent increase, then Euphorbia, third Blue Fescue, and last Umbrella plant.After 8 weeks (for 100 mg/kg plants): Kale had the highest increase in zinc, then Euphorbia, followed byBlue Fescue, and fourth Umbrella plant.Conclusions/DiscussionThe amount of phytoextraction by each plant depends on a few features in the plant: its root length;tolerance levels to drought, disease, and climate; and growth rate. Because the Kale was extremelytolerant to disease and had a medium-sized root length, it extracted the most zinc. Even though the Kaleextracted the most zinc, it looked the most unhealthy at the end, as though it would soon die. So the Kalewould not be good for practical applications, which extend over many years, for it would die early. Hence,the Blue Fescue, which came second in absorption level and remained healthy, would be the best optionfor cleaning zinc-contaminated soil.Summary

My project intended to conclude which of my four plants is the best option for decontaminating zinc fromsoil, to help in real-life applications.

This study aimed to determine which ferromagnetic material makes the best electromagnetic projectile for use in magnetic propulsion systems.

Methods/Materials

Three common magnetic materials Iron, Cobalt, and Nickel were chosen for this study. An experimental apparatus was constructed of plastic tubing through which the magnetic projectiles are accelerated. To generate a strong magnetic field, magnet wire was wound in a coil around the tube. A large voltage stored in a capacitor was discharged rapidly into the coil providing sufficiently high currents resulting in a large magnetic field along the axis of the tube. Differences in the magnetic capabilities of each material can then be determined by measuring the speeds of the different magnetic projectiles. Projectile speeds are determined by measuring the time it takes the projectiles to cover a fixed distance inside the tube. Great care was taken to cancel out unwanted variation caused by the experimental setup including sidewall collision, air friction, and weight differences between elements. Each projectile was weighed to be approximately the same weight to cancel out the effect of gravity. Conducting multiple trials cancels out the random effects of sidewall collision and air friction.

Results

Iron was 6% faster than Cobalt and nearly double the speed of Nickel.

Conclusions/Discussion

Based on literature research, Iron has the highest coercive magnetic force and so Iron should be the best magnetic projectile. However, the results in this experiment are inconclusive because sample weight differences between Cobalt and Iron turned out to be about the same as the speed differences measured. The reason Iron did not go significantly faster than Cobalt is still unclear. Literature research shows that Iron could be saturating at the high flux densities experienced in the coil so this may explain the anomaly. Future experiments could include more elements like Niobium (NB) or Samarium-Cobalt (alloy) and also investigating a detachable mechanism that ejects the payload as it passes thru the coil thereby eliminating magnetic drag caused by reversing magnetic polarity as the projectile traverses the length of the coil. With these techniques, Magnetic propulsion may enable more efficient delivery of payloads into space using magnets instead of fossil fuels.

Summary

This project attempts to determine which ferromagnetic material is best for magnetic propulsion systems.

Laser communication has many advantages over wired devices. Lasers can carry messages near the speed of light with little interference whereas electrical signals travel at 60%-90% of speed of light. The goal of my project was to build a low cost device to transmit my voice a long distance in open air using lasers and learn as much as I can about the related technologies.

Methods/Materials

I researched, brainstormed, and conducted a series of experiments in 2007 through Feb'08 to understand the concepts and built devices for sending my voice in open air using lasers.I video taped diaphragms of speakers playing sounds, examining the motion frame-by-frame, and learned the basics of speakers, sound, waves, frequency, microphones, lasers, solar cells, Doppler effect, simple circuits, and analysis /computer tools.

In my first series of experiments, I connected small mirrors to speakers and eventually headphones. I shone laser beams onto mirrors while playing music. I pointed the reflected beams into solar cells connected to MIC input of a laptop and used Adobe SoundBooth to capture and analyze the received signals.

In my second set of experiments, I used carbon-dust microphone to modulate my voice onto laser beams. I built my own carbon-dust microphone from pencil led (which I learned from a Nova science program on telephones). I connected the carbon microphone in series with the laser pointer batteries. I shone the beam onto a solar cell 200 feet away connected to the MIC input of a laptop, and captured /amplified the AC signal generated by variations in laser photon intensity.

In my final set of experiments, I attached a mirror to the bottom of coffee cans and shone lasers onto the mirror while talking into coffee cans. I pointed the reflected beams onto a solar cell connected to MIC input of a laptop.

Results

I achieved my goals of building a device capable of transmitting my voice with great clarity for $32 and learn many new concepts in the process. The carbon MIC had medium sound quality and cost $24. The coffee can designs cost $21 with 30% of transmitted words recognizable.

Conclusions/Discussion

Audio signals can be transmitted long distances using the techniques in my experiment. I also discovered other practical uses of my experiments including recreation of audio signals using lasers reflected off of vibrating windows acting as diaphragms far away, detecting earthquakes, and ground movements.

Summary

Building a low cost device to transmit audio a long distance in open air over a laser beam.

In our project Constructing an Inductrack MAGLEV, our engineering goal was to construct a magnetically levitated train complete with a propulsion track. The design criteria: Chassis must be light as possible, must achieve levitation of at least 2 millimeters, transition speed must be lower than 10 m/sec, and must be durable.

Methods/Materials

The main components of the MAGLEV are inductor arrays, a fiberboard chassis, a propulsion circuit, and magnet arrays. The inductors were created by winding 18 AWG magnet wire around a 3x2 inch plastic brace 86 times. The chassis was made with fiberboard cut to 3x2 inches. Halbach arrays are a sequence of magnets created by orientating 5 neodymium magnets so that they are more powerful. This creates a strong field. The propulsion circuit uses an electrically charged coil to create an electromagnetic field that propels the chassis. Using a PVC gutter 8 feet long, we used a bungee cord to launch the chassis with the attached magnet arrays over the inductors. This was used to test our chassis for levitation. The electronic propulsion was tested separately from the levitation.

Results

From our results, we determined that levitation was not achieved. Propulsion was achieved. The chassis was as light as possible (415g), with almost all of the mass belonging to the magnets. The chassis was durable. We could not achieve levitation because our chassis speed could not meet the transition speed. More issues were that there was a braking force on the chassis as it passed the coils, and also because there was too much coil resistance.

Conclusions/Discussion

Some reasons why our project did not work is because there was a braking force on the chassis and inductors were not the same size, so some inductors did not act on the chassis equally. In the future we would wind Litz-wire coils to increase coil efficiency and would find a method to measure the current in the inductors. We would obtain software modeling that determines the design to use based on the numerous variables such as wire size, number of winds, and coil dimensions, etc. We would also add a more stable track to test higher chassis speeds, add electronic parts that can sustain higher amps, have our coils professionally wound and purchase higher quality magnets.

Summary

The purpose of the project was to design and construct a magnetically levitated train with electronic propulsion circuitry.

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficiencies of ancient water purification methods against the efficiencies of modern water purification methods. It was hypothesized that modern water purification methods would be more effective in removing bacteria, dissolved solids, salts, and turbidity.

Methods/Materials

The ancient methods that were tested were: the Hippocrates Sleeve (straining water through a conical fabric bag before boiling it); Susruta Samhita (coarse gravel and sand filtration before boiling the water); simply boiling the water; the Scottish Water Treatment (charcoal and sand filtration); and the Lucas Antonius Portius method (sand filtration). The modern purification methods were Reverse Osmosis (membrane purification), and UV light purification (agitating the water with a UV Light bulb). A large water sample was collected from a local river to be purified. After the methods were performed on the river water, the water was collected and frozen in individual, sterilized containers. Then, five tests (Conductivity, TDS, pH, Optical Density, and APC) were run on each of the samples to determine the presence and concentrations of salts, dissolved solids, pH, turbidity, and bacteria.

Results

The experiment refuted the notion that Reverse Osmosis can remove all impurities from the water sample as it removed relatively little bacteria from the river water. The hypothesis that modern purification methods were more effective than ancient methods was not entirely correct because UV light was second to boiling in reducing the most bacteria. Reverse Osmosis however did remove the most salts, dissolved solids, and reduced turbidity. The Susruta Samhita method and the Hippocrates Sleeve method performed relatively well in all areas.

Conclusions/Discussion

The results indicated that many of these methods such as boiling, the Hippocrates Sleeve, and the Susruta Samhita method are very plausible choices for inexpensive water purification in the modern day. In areas that have poor infrastructure, the use of these methods is ideal.

Summary

This project studied how ancient water purification methods compare to modern ones.

Environmental EngineeringZareen ChoudhuryPhytoextraction: An Organic Decontaminator J0904Objectives/GoalsSoil contaminants form negative impacts on our ecosystem: ruining groundwater supplies, killingorganisms, and posing a threat to our health. Certain plants can decontaminate soil through the process of phytoextraction; my project was to find out which plant (Euphorbia, Blue Fescue, Umbrella Plant, orKale) would decontaminate the most amount of zinc contamination from the soil. I hypothesized that theBlue Fescue would, because of its high toxicity-resistance levels and long roots.Methods/MaterialsI had 3 of each type of plant (12 plants in all), with 1 control and 2 variables for each type. The variableplants all received a dosage of zinc chloride; within each plant type, 1 variable plant would get zinc at aratio of 776.4 mg of Zn/kg of soil and the other variable plant got a ratio of 100 mg of Zn/kg of soil. After3 weeks, the control plants and the plants with a concentration of 776.4 mg of Zn/kg of soil were sent to alab, to see how much zinc they extracted by then. After an additional 5 weeks, all variable plants weresent to the lab, and the final data were taken.ResultsAfter 3 weeks (for 776.4 mg/kg plants): The Kale had the most percent increase in zinc, followed by theBlue Fescue, then Euphorbia, and last the Umbrella plant. After 8 weeks (for 776.4 mg/kg plants): The Kale had the highest percent increase, then Euphorbia, third Blue Fescue, and last Umbrella plant.After 8 weeks (for 100 mg/kg plants): Kale had the highest increase in zinc, then Euphorbia, followed byBlue Fescue, and fourth Umbrella plant.Conclusions/DiscussionThe amount of phytoextraction by each plant depends on a few features in the plant: its root length;tolerance levels to drought, disease, and climate; and growth rate. Because the Kale was extremelytolerant to disease and had a medium-sized root length, it extracted the most zinc. Even though the Kaleextracted the most zinc, it looked the most unhealthy at the end, as though it would soon die. So the Kale would not be good for practical applications, which extend over many years, for it would die early. Hence, the Blue Fescue, which came second in absorption level and remained healthy, would be the best option for cleaning zinc-contaminated soil.Summary

My project intended to conclude which of my four plants is the best option for decontaminating zinc fromsoil, to help in real-life applications.

An Algorithm to Minimize Memory Usage in Graph-based Applications.J1321

Objectives/Goals

The objective of this project was to invent an efficient algorithm to minimize the memory usage of

software applications that use graph data structures. Based on analysis of possible approaches to solving the problem, it was hypothesized that an optimum algorithm could run in approximately O (S^2*E) time, S and E being the number of sources and number of edges in an input graph, respectively. A heuristic algorithm was considered an acceptable solution if its runtime benefits over optimum algorithms outweighed its lack of consistent optimality.

Methods/Materials

To minimize its memory usage, a graph-based application must dynamically free memory used by graph edges and vertices that are no longer reachable by any sources yet to be traversed. In this context, the weight of a graph edge is assumed to indicate the amount of memory being used by data stored as part of the edge. A graph's average weight is defined as the average of S graph weights, the total weight of the graph being taken after each source traversal. An algorithm that optimally frees memory used by graph edges is defined as one that produces for any input graph a source ordering that enables minimization of the graph's average weight. Use of the average weight system allows early elimination of significant graph weight to be valued highly, an important factor in producing optimum results. A brute force algorithm that checks all possible orderings of a graph's sources was developed to verify algorithm optimality.

Results

The proposed algorithm uses recursion to find the optimum source ordering of an input graph; it divides the graph into smaller and smaller subgraphs until it reaches a base case and then works its way back up, eventually returning to and solving for the original input graph. The algorithm is a heuristic that produced optimum results for most tested graphs; it has sizable runtime benefits over considered optimum algorithms. Analysis shows that the algorithm runs in approximately O (S^4*V*log E) time.

Conclusions/Discussion

The major contributions of this work to the field of graph theory are the definition and implementation of the concepts of average graph weight and optimum source ordering for dynamic graph weight minimization. In addition to its applications in improving software efficiency, the proposed algorithm has numerous other practical uses. Most notable among them is its ability to minimize energy usage in factories.

Summary

The purpose of this project was to develop an algorithm that would enable minimization of an input graph's weight by producing an optimum source ordering by which to traverse its sources.

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Pharmacology/ Toxicology

Suchita Nety

Impact of Nanoparticles on Human Analogs J1522

Objectives/Goals

For my project, I studied the mechanical and toxic effects of commonly occurring nano particles on ciliated organisms and bacteria-used as human analogs. I predicted that the nano particles would be able to slow the movement of the cilia, meaning that it would be able to enter the human body. I also thought that there would be signs of inhibition on the plates of bacteria when exposed to the nano particles, indicating a harmful chemical effect.

Methods/Materials

I chose to use the smallest possible sizes of these materials to understand the impact of the effects of nano-sizes. Experiments were carried out with Titanium Dioxide, Carbon, and Chromium on Spirostomum ambiguum, Blepharisma americanium, and E. coli.

Results

It was found that dilutions of even 30% can cause significant reduction in the motion of these ciliated organisms. The bacterium did not show any adverse toxicity effects of the nanoparticles..... a good thing because the materials that I tested are all around us.

Conclusions/Discussion

In conclusion, part of my hypothesis was correct; the nano particles slowed the movement of the ciliated protists. The other part was not supported by my data; the E. coli plates showed no signs of inhibition of growth. For the future, it will be interesting to extend these studies to deep nano sizes and other human analogs.

Summary

The goal of my project was to use human analogs, ciliated protists and bacteria, to understand if common nano particles could be harmful to human health.

Space travel is a major concern for the 21st Century. Astronauts will need to provide much of their own food for lunar habitats and deep-space travel. The engineering goal was to build a 4:1 scale prototype for a Lunar Plant Growth Chamber (LPGC). This project was inspired by the NASA Lunar Plant Growth Chamber Design Challenge. Multiple prototypes were built and evaluated. Each prototype was judged on a 48 point evaluation scale. The 48 criterions were divided into 5 sections ( transportation, set-up, usage, harvest/store, production materials ). Each criterion was judged on a 1-5 scale.

Methods/Materials

Three prototypes were designed for preliminary evaluation. They were then evaluated against the criteria and scored comparatively. Based on the results a final prototype design was synthesized from the best of these results. The final prototype was constructed and evaluated against the criteria. Sweet basil plants were grown in the chamber as a functional test.A wide variety of materials were used in the construction of the final prototype chamber including: 3/8 and 1/4 acrylic sheets, aluminum electronics box, 12 volt battery, DC-AC inverter, switches, wire, rubberized canvas, LED light array, DC pump, plant nutrients, acid, plants. We found that the selection of materials is a non-random pursuit in developing an engineered product. Re-stated, material science plays a key role in the design of a LPGC.

Results

The final prototype design scored 35 more design points over the next highest prototype. The final prototype was superior in every evaluation criteria except for one. When the sweet basil plants were placed in the chamber all of the plants survived and grew as expected for a period of one week. On average the plants grew 2 cm and produced two more leaves. Other plants were also evaluated as potential plants for a hydroponic system used in the LPGC: bib lettuce, cinnamon basil, bell peppers, and watercress.

Conclusions/Discussion

The final prototype LPGC scored best against the 48 criterions as compared to the earlier prototypedesigns. The final prototype design proved to be effective at growing plants of potential use on the lunar surface. The engineering team believes that the prototype should be finalized as a design giving due attention to space qualified materials.

Summary

The design of a prototype Lunar Plant Growth Chamber (LPGC) for use as a part of a manned lunar habitat.